


A Royal Visit to Queens

by Azure_K_Mello



Series: Blunt Force Trauma [4]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Awesome Michelle Jones, Best Friends, F/M, Gen, High School, Johnny Storm is the Best, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Peter Parker & Shuri Friendship, Peter Parker is Happy, Proud of How Short this is, Science Bros, The Author Regrets Nothing, memes are a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 12:56:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20621390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azure_K_Mello/pseuds/Azure_K_Mello
Summary: When Shuri visits New York, Peter is so excited to surprise her with a fun afternoon. It's a shame that Flash is the worst. Also, T'Challa is pretty angry about a prank with free shavacado.





	A Royal Visit to Queens

**Author's Note:**

> I am so damn proud that I got this story under 10,000 words. This is the shortest full story I have written in months!

When he heard Shuri’s schedule, Peter couldn’t help but smile and she said, “What?”

“Nothing, it just seems like you’re going to be really busy. It sounds fun,” he smiled. “I’m excited to be in the same time zone. So, Saturday?”

“Yes, we can all tour the center together,” she agreed. 

They talked for a while and then Peter said goodbye, citing his internship as a reason to hang up. Downstairs he said, “Shuri is giving a speech at my school the Friday of her trip.”

May smiled, “That’s great. Did you invite her for dinner?”

“No, I want it to be a surprise. I’m going to email Okoye and see if I can do it behind Shuri’s back.”

May laughed, “Y’know, a year ago, if someone had said, ‘You’re going to find out your kid is a superhero, his friend is a princess and you’ll invite her to your house without even worrying about it.’ I just wouldn’t have believed them. As it is? Find out how many bodyguards she has because we might need to borrow folding chairs.” 

He smiled and typed out a message to Okoye’s email address saying it was him and asking if her email was secure. Immediately, his Skype started to ring and he answered. She didn’t say hello just, “Are you in trouble?”

“No, I’m in my kitchen. Why?”

“You asked if my email was secure,” she said. “That’s not a normal thing to ask.”

“I wanted to set up a surprise for Shuri,” said Peter. “I just wanted to be sure that everyone’s email was private correspondence.” Okoye sighed. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Between the two of them, they got it hammered out quickly. Only Okoye and Nakia would be with her. Instead of going on a school tour, they would privately talk to Principal Morita to let Shuri come to AP Physics with him. She’d been interested in the class and hearing all about the test for weeks. Then they would go to Decathlon practice and he would get Johnny to pick them up in one of his cars. All of his cars were explosion-proof. They would drive home with Ned and MJ, and all have dinner together. 

Okoye smiled at him, “She’ll love this, Peter.”

“I know she’s been really excited for her trip. But so much of it is diplomat stuff, and she said she wanted to try meatloaf.”

“She’ll love it,” Okoye repeated. “And I won’t say a word.” 

He spent the morning of the day he was going to see her pretty excited. MJ smiled, “It’s like watching a kid on Christmas Eve.”

“I have pulled off a con,” said Peter. “I’m excited to see her face when she walks into AP Physics.”

MJ nodded, “I spoke to her yesterday for a little while,” she said. He took her hand as they walked down the hall. “She seems to be enjoying New York, but the UN is draining her. It’ll be nice to actually meet her.”

“So what’s the plan?” asked Ned when they finally reached class and joined him. “Are you excited to see your friend?”

“Yeah, but I’m not going to make a scene.”

“Of course you aren’t,” said Flash from his seat far too close to them. “Because to make a scene, you would have to actually know her.”

Peter sighed and said, “Flash, at some point, you’re going to realize I really don’t care what you think of me. Keep your opinions to yourself.”

He waited impatiently through his classes until it was time for the assembly. He sat with his friends in the middle of the auditorium. Her presentation was about collaborative science vs. isolationist, the benefits of both. She spoke of T’Challa’s quinjets, of Norman Borlaug’s dwarf wheat, but also of James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Williams and Rosalind Franklin and the double helix. “Science does not exist in a bubble, but some good ideas do,” she said. She talked about the collaborative projects that were going to be researched in the Wakandan Outreach Centers and about the role of the next generation of innovators. She asked for questions. 

The first few were just about how to get lab space and a mentor at the Center in Harlem. Shuri was explaining the process and smiling. Peter was impressed with how poised she was. But, after all, she had been raised to rule. Then Flash was at the mic, and Peter already knew it was gonna ruin things. 

Flash didn’t seem to understand how petty he was being. This was an opportunity to speak to a seventeen-year-old who was the head technologist of her country. But, he asked, “Do you know a guy called Peter Parker? Or is he making it up?”

“Peter Parker?” repeated Shuri. “You know Peter?”

Peter cupped his hands around his mouth and called, “Hey, Shur.”

“Peter!” she grinned, and he carefully made his way out of the row. “You didn’t tell me you went here. I told you I was coming here and you didn’t say a word.”

He made his way to the stage and pushed himself up onto it. “It was supposed to be a surprise.” They hugged, and he said, “You’re shorter in real life.”

“You’re taller than I expected. I wish you had told me. I have such a busy afternoon.”

“No, you don’t,” he replied.

She shook her head, “T’Challa was very insistent I not blow off any meetings.”

“The tour you’re getting of the school?” he asked, and she nodded, “Principal Morita was going to walk you to AP Physics.”

“I get to go to Mr. Soffelus’ class?” She beamed.

“Yeah, but we do have to actually have class because the AP test is-”

“In May,” she finished for him. “I can observe quietly.”

He smiled, “And the meeting you have at the UN this afternoon?” She nodded, looking hopeful that he had another surprise. “That’s not really today: you’re coming to Academic Decathalon. But again-”

“Regionals are in eight days, and you are all cramming,” she supplied. “But, I get to hang out with Ned, MJ, Abe, Cindy and everyone?”

“Yes, you do. And the dinner at the UN that you’re going to tonight? That’s entirely fictional. Johnny is picking us up. We’re going to my house. May is making meatloaf.” 

“I’ve really wanted to try meatloaf!”

“That is why May is cooking it and she said that, if it’s too foreign and weird, don’t be polite and choke it down: we’ll order pizza. Ordering pizza when dinner doesn’t work out is, like, the most New York thing ever.”

“I get to meet May and pet Lucky!” She said and then she spoke to the auditorium. “If you’re not following Peter on Instagram, you’re missing out on the cutest dog in the world. You planned all this?” she asked, turning back to him.

“Well, me, Okoye and Nakia: it was a group effort. And May is cooking dinner for eight people.”

“That is so kind of her.”

“Well, she likes you. When I asked her she didn’t blink just asked how many people were in your entourage to find out if we needed extra kitchen chairs. The amount of time we skype while both in PJs has really worn the shine off your crown so she’s not stressed out and May likes cooking for a crowd. Sorry it’s no longer a surprise. Mr. Soffelus hung up a banner before heading to assembly.”

“Is that that kid Johnny and Clint hate?”

“Yes, but when were you talking to Clint?”

“He threw away his SHIELD hearing aids in a fit of pique but hates commercially available aids. It’s funny, all of us keep having the same conversation: we start by asking if we’re really friends or if we only knew each other because of Stark. He was the hub in the wheel but, now that he’s in prison, we all still like each other.”

“Thank goodness,” said Peter. “It would have been awful to lose so many friends as well as my internship.”

“I mentioned how handsome Lucky was and how good of an owner you were and he said, ‘When I dropped Lucky off there was an awful boy.’” Turning to Flash, who was still at the mic, looking stunned, she said, “You should consider your actions. Clint Barton and Johnny Storm both find you repugnant. You don’t want two superheroes to dislike you. And, you should know, that Peter’s never mentioned you to me. Whatever you’re hoping to accomplish by being unkind, you’re not achieving it: you’re beneath Peter’s notice.”

“Shur,” he said gently, “it’s honestly not worth getting worked up about. Your brother will tell you off for causing a scene.”

“My brother gave me a lecture about not causing a problem for international relations, not about telling off bullies.”

“Well, if you aren’t going to irritate your brother you’re going to make Decathlon awkward.” She looked confused, “Flash is on the team.”

Turning to Flash again, she said, “To prove a point: I’ve never heard your name before, and I thought I knew everyone in Decathlon.”

Peter shrugged, “Life is too short to talk about a bully when we could be talking about Abe’s excellent jokes.”

“They are hilarious,” she agreed, “I’m so excited for my New York afternoon. I haven’t done anything like this since I got here.”

“Don’t get too excited. I’m not taking you to the Met or the Empire State building. I’m taking you to class and a blue-collar neighborhood in Queens.”

“I get to eat May’s food. So much better than a building. I have had ten meetings at the UN, ten. All of them important and an excellent use of my time but I have had ten thus far.”

“That’s a lot of sitting in meetings.” He glanced at his watch and said, “I didn’t want to tell you I was here because I figured it would derail your presentation. And it did. So instead of trying to find someone to ask another question, I’ll ask if you fixed your magic bracelet.”

She rolled her eyes, “It’s not magic; it’s just very advanced technology.”

“So is Thor’s hammer: still magic,” he replied. “After a certain point, tech is magic, and vibranium-based physics is incomprehensible.”

She explained the bracelets to the room, saying that they had the internet, holograms, power and medical capabilities. She didn’t talk about the explosives and the trackers. “Recently, I have been trying to upgrade the projection from Princess Leia asking for Obi Wan’s help to a Star Trek holodeck for your wrist. Peter has been listening to me whine about it for a couple of months. And it finally paid off. Who can I call who would be free at home? Probably T.” She dialed her brother.

He answered and said, “Is everything alright? You should be at a school.”

There was a perfect little T’Challa; he looked like a little man standing on her wrist. He was two feet tall. The whole auditorium gasped. Peter stared, transfixed. “I was asked if I had figured out the problem with the encoding of the Kimoyo Beads. I’m showing everyone.” She turned to show him the audience. 

“How do you do? It is lovely to see you all,” he told the room before she turned him back to her. “Who knows about the Kimoyo Beads to ask after them?” Then a look of realization appeared on his face. Peter couldn’t get over the detail on the hologram. “Peter,” said T’Challa.

Peter leaned in so that he was in T’Challa’s eye line and said, “Hello, my liege.”

“Peter, I’m very angry with you.”

Faltering Peter said, “I thought you thought it was funny irritating when I called you my liege.”

“I’m not angry about that. You know what it’s about. You have to consider your actions.” Peter knew that that was a harsh reprimand from the man and was shocked.

“T’Challa, I honestly don’t know what I’ve done.”

“Your free shavacado stunt was not funny.” He looked to his left, clearly hearing something. Then he turned back and said, “We will be discussing this at length, Peter. I must go.” 

Then he blinked out, and Peter turned to Shuri and said, “What did you do and how am I at fault?”

“I set him up to ask about the American delicacy shavacado and told him to ask for it for free because it is a grave offense to charge a foreigner to try it.”

Peter nodded, “So far, a funny prank he wouldn’t get that upset about.”

“But he said it to the wrong person,” she explained, and Peter understood she meant Nakia. The man hated embarrassing himself in front of his ex. “And he came into my lab, so angry, shouting about memes and threatened to turn off the country’s internet.”

“Could he actually do that?” asked Peter, genuinely interested. 

“He has the ability to do so. It wouldn’t be difficult at all. But he wouldn’t. If he does that, he is not a king; he is a despot. He is not despotic. And then he said, ‘This is Peter’s fault.’ And, Peter, I took the out I was being offered.”

“I cannot believe you, Shur. ‘Consider your actions’ is a really harsh statement in Wakanda.”

She was fighting not to laugh, looking sheepish. “You have been banned from my country.”

“You got me banned from a country with closed borders? What, is the law now: no foreigners but especially not that one kid?”

She nodded and was fighting not to giggle but half failing, “Essentially, yes.” 

“I know I say it a lot: but, you are the literal worst.”

She smiled, “No, this is good. He’s been watching my speeches, and when he finds out he just shouted at you for no reason, he’s going to feel horrible and want to make it up to you. My brother is very honorable. You might be the second outsider in history to be allowed into the country. I have been begging for months on your behalf, and he might let you come as an apology for being censured for no good reason… he is going to be livid with me though.”

Peter saw Principal Morita walking to the stage, and he said, “We have successfully wasted your Q&A time.” As the man reached the dais, Peter said, “Sorry, Principal Morita.”

The man shrugged, “You said not to say you went here because it would derail the assembly. This wasn’t your fault.”

“Sorry I upbraided your student,” said Shuri.

Principal Morita shrugged, “Maybe you’ll get through to him because I certainly haven’t. A princess telling you off is bigger than the principal.” Turning to the auditorium, he spoke into the microphone and said, “Please thank Her Royal Highness Princess Shuri of Wakanda for taking time out of her jam-packed visit to America to speak to us.” Everyone clapped, and he held out Peter’s backpack. “Grabbed that for you.”

“Thank you,” he said, taking it with a smile. They walked to the back of the stage where there were a few steps down to the hallways, and he saw Okoye and Nakia. He didn’t know them well enough to hug them, so he did the formal, crossed arms salute that he had seen so many times over skype when people entered Shuri’s lab. They both looked surprised, “What, did I do it wrong?”

“In twenty years of visiting the UN with the Royal family. Not one diplomat has ever saluted,” said Okoye. “It did seem very improbable that you were the source of the free shavacado, but that does drive it home.” 

“If I murder Shur and hide her body, are you two gonna snitch on me?” asked Peter making them both laugh.

“Yes, to her mother,” said Nakia.

“Oh, that’s scary,” said Peter. Looking to Shuri, he said, “Your mom intimidates me. And not just because she is the Queen Emerita.” 

Principal Morita chuckled, “I will walk with you because I scheduled it into my day.”

“Sir, I have to ask, are you any relation to Jim Morita? You have a striking resemblance to him,” said Shuri.

“He was my grandfather.”

“My goodness, what a storied family — one of the honorable Howling Commandoes and the principal at one of New York’s finest schools.” She moved on, allowing him not to have to reply to the enormous compliment she had just given him. She really was a consummate diplomat when she wanted to be. “I apologize again about scolding Bang.”

“Flash,” corrected Peter. 

“I honestly am not offended. I have at least four parents a semester call me about him,” said the man. “I didn’t realize you were one of his targets,” he added to Peter.

“It used to really upset me. When we were little, and I was shorter than him and he was throwing me into lockers — it was upsetting. But then we had those placement tests a week after Ben bled to death in my arms as we waited for an ambulance that came eight minutes too late and I bombed them.”

“That was completely understandable,” said the principal. “You shouldn’t have even been taking those tests.”

“It kept me out from under May’s feet while she dealt with the will and getting his credit cards turned off. But Flash made fun of me for failing, and it was just,” Peter shrugged. “I was taller than him, and we were living in a post-Ben world. So, now, nothing Flash does upsets me more than just an irritation. We live in a post-Ben world; Flash means nothing.”

“It might have been good for us,” said Okoye.

“Why? Because T’Challa will focus on that instead of the free shavacado?” asked Shuri, “I don’t believe he will care about this.”

“No,” Okoye shook her head. “People at the UN have started calling you Africa’s Ice Princess because you talk in numbers with facts and figures. You are completely dispassionate when you talk math. And yet, you are speaking about death tolls.”

“Math has no room for emotion,” said Shuri. “I’m giving them concrete figures. I am speaking clearly and concisely to make myself understood.”

“People react to emotions,” said Nakia “T’Challa is not the only one watching your school visits. The UN will take note and realize you are being professional in meetings, but you are seventeen underneath the diplomacy mask. You get angry on a friend’s behalf yet blame him for pranks to your brother.”

“Are all the meetings about vaccines?” asked Peter, knowing that that had been the main focus of her equations recently. She nodded, “So you’re, like, leading the meetings?”

“Forty hours, thus far, trying to convince the UN to allow us to give vaccines for free,” said Shuri. “Living nightmare. But, I don’t have to go this afternoon,” she grinned. “I was mentally fortifying myself and, it turns out, I get to try meatloaf and hang out with your friends.”

Peter smiled, “Another thing that is so New York, and Principal Morita can back me up on this, is that May made two kinds of meatloaf: the American one which she never cooks and the Italian version, which is a staple in our house. There is nothing more New York than having super American food next to something from your own country. May makes her grandma’s meatloaf but usually serves it with mac and cheese.”

Principal Morita laughed, “Japan isn’t big on sweets. And my grandparents were both first-generation. My grandma cooked very traditional foods, but she always had apple pie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. They do call it the melting pot for a reason.” 

“Ned and MJ don’t like the meatloaf May usually makes, and she wanted to make sure you had the American version,” said Peter. “The Italian one is very foreign to an American palate. But you’re foreign, so maybe you’ll like it more, or maybe you’ll think they’re both weird.” They reached the classroom where people were settling in. 

“This is where I leave you. Thank you so much for taking the time to come and speak about the center,” said Principal Morita, shaking their hands before leaving. 

Going into the class, Peter said, “May I present Her Royal Highness Princess Shuri of Wakanda with the royal guards and members of the Dora Milaje, Nakia and Okoye.”

He saw Soffelus steel himself, “Your Highness.”

Shuri started to laugh, “Mr. Soffelus, Peter is a troll: we’re a first name country, very laidback. We’re just Shuri, Okoye and Nakia. Thank you so much for allowing us to join you. I have heard so much about this class.”

He smiled, “They can put it on my tombstone: a princess responded to hearing about AP Physics by calling it ‘Mr. Soffelus’ class.’ Peter is unduly stressing about the test. This class is far more prepared to crush it than any other class in the country. This team is awesome. So don’t worry about being a distraction. We can have a fun day. Peter said you would want to take the Friday quiz. You’re a seventeen-year-old with three PhDs.” He was setting up the coffee pot.

“I want to take the Friday quiz,” she said, emphatically. “This is my one class in an American school. I would very much like to take the Friday quiz.”

He smiled and said, “Okay. I gotta tell you: this isn’t a normal class. Because it’s advanced students, I trust them not to get distracted by the coffee machine and candy. None of the other classes have that. Freshman who have to take Pre Calc as a compulsory course cannot be given an excuse not to pay attention.” He poured himself a cup of coffee. Peter went to the lab bench and started unpacking his bag as people got up for coffee. 

“I like the banner,” said Shuri. It was poster paint. Ned and MJ had helped him.

“It would have been sad for you to see it without knowing that there had been a surprise, so I just went ahead and told you,” said Peter. 

Nakia and Okoye took up strategic positions in the room. Shuri smiled at Betty as she sat next to Peter, “Hi, Betty. I’m Shuri.”

“The Royal Princess of Wakanda knows my name,” said Betty. “Hi.”

“How is your cat?”

“On the mend. His cast comes off next week,” said Betty.

“Poor little thing,” said Shuri. 

Mr. Soffelus handed them the quizzes, and Shuri said, “Sorry in advance for my handwriting. I know it’s terrible.”

They all fell silent as they worked and brought them up to his desk before going to the coffee machine and candy stash Peter grabbed KitKats and Twix. 

Mr. Soffelus was reading fast, flicking through them. Everyone was quietly sorting out their stuff and eating snacks. Seymour came over and spoke quietly as he said, “Hey, you shouting at Flash? That was awesome.”

“Thanks,” she smiled. “Are you Seymour or Sebastian?”

Smiling, he pointed and said, “That’s Sebastian. You really know everyone, don’t you?”

“Only in this class and Decathlon. The important people,” she smiled them and then took a bite of Twix. She chewed slowly and then handed the other half of the mini Twix to Peter. 

“Not good?” he asked.

She swallowed and said, “It a mouthful of sugar. I feel like it coated the inside of my mouth.”

Peter laughed and popped the other half into his mouth. “Okay!” Mr. Soffelus clapped his hands together, “We are going to be talking about the fourth question because you got the other eight down. Shuri, your handwriting is exquisite. Also, you failed.”

“What?” she said. “I knew all nine questions. How could I have failed?”

“There is a tenth space,” he said, and everyone in the room realized and started laughing.

“What did I do?” asked Shuri.

“You didn’t put your name on your work,” said Peter. “That’s an instant fail. And a mistake we all make from time to time. I got one on a quiz in Spanish last semester.”

“I got one in German a month ago,” said Seymour. “It happens to everyone about once every other year. It’s a rule from fifth grade on and every kid in America gets a zero every other year.”

“Why is this a rule?” asked Shuri. 

“I have one hundred and forty-seven students,” said Mr. Soffelus. “On average, I have seventy tests and or lab reports a week to grade. I have 294 homework assignments to read. Do you know how much time it takes to figure out who I am missing when I’m grading? I have a two-year-old at home; I want to spend time with my toddler, not drawing a diagram of which ones I’m missing. I have one hundred and forty-seven students, Shuri, and it takes you less than a second to write your name.” He smiled, “You wanted a high school experience. Would you like to go on my wall of shame?” he pointed at the wall of Polaroids of kids pulling sad faces holding their tests. “It’s totally voluntary; no one is forced to be on the wall.”

“I want to be on the wall,” she nodded. 

He got out his camera and said, “No one call it an Instagram camera. It’s a real Polaroid that my dad bought, in 1978. Don’t do me dirty and make me explain that I remember a couple of years of the ‘80s. Shuri, come stand against the wall, hold up your quiz and look sad.” She did as asked. “Perfect,” he said. Then he said, “Okay, on to the matter at hand.” He started lecturing, asking them questions and letting them ask questions. It was useful and a good class, all of them getting clarity. 

Seymour grimaced, “I hate to ask this in front of a princess who is my age and has three PhDs, but can you explain that equation one more time, just slower? ‘Cause I am not getting it.”

“Sure, coming at it from a different angle,” said Mr. Soffelus. He launched off again, slower, giving more examples. 

Halfway through, Seymour said, “Got it! It clicked.”

Mr. Soffelus offered him the whiteboard marker, and Seymour went up and finished the equation, talking through it. “Perfect,” said Mr. Soffelus. The bell rang, and Shuri stood up from the lab table, making everyone laugh. “Shuri, you are letting me say all the clichés today. Kids?”

Everyone chorused, “The bell doesn’t dismiss you.”

“I dismiss you,” he finished. To the class, he said, “Sorry we ran long. Read the next chapter over the weekend, do the answers: you know the drill. Have a great weekend.”

“It ended on time?” Shuri said with confusion. 

“I try to get everyone out five minutes early on Fridays,” explained Mr. Soffelus. “But we were having too much fun with the shame wall. Thank you for the picture. Sorry, if I teased you.”

“I have been at the UN all week with people who are very polite but do like me because I am seventeen and handing them information they do not like. Being teased was a very nice break.”

“Do you want to take a picture with your shame picture to show your mom?” asked Peter.

“Yes, please,” she stood next to her photo where it had been tacked up. Once Peter had taken the picture, she said, “Thank you so much for allowing me to come to your class, Mr. Soffelus, I hope I was not too much of a distraction.” 

“I’m not joking when I say this is the most prepared class in the country. They could all get fours right now if it were handed to them. One class period isn’t going to stop them from getting up to a five on the day. And you weren’t that much of a distraction.”

No one had left, clearly not wanting to go when they could spend a few extra minutes with a real live princess. “I’m very pleased to have met you all. Now I have faces for Peter’s stories. He thinks very highly of you.”

They left, and he said, “I have to hit my locker for a sec.” They headed over, and he said, “Here’s the three square feet of the school that I own,” as he unlocked it. 

She saw the pictures inside and said, “It’s just like in the movies.” It made him laugh. He took the Hershey’s Kiss from on top of his books. “Do you keep chocolate in your locker?”

“No, at some point in the afternoon, MJ puts one in my locker. It’s a Hershey’s kiss. I sneak a note into her bag mid-morning.”

“That’s adorable,” she said.

“We’re obnoxiously adorable,” he agreed, unwrapping it and popping it into his mouth. “Are you having fun?” He swapped books fast, taking what he needed for the weekend. 

“So much fun. Thank you, you three, for putting this together.”

Okoye put her arm around Shuri, “You’ve been working hard, long hours all week. You deserved a break. Be sure to thank Mrs. Parker: she’s hosting what amounts to a state dinner.”

Peter laughed, “May is used to having people just turn up for dinner. She views this as my pen pal and a couple of her friends coming over. She very specifically hasn’t been hyping herself up. She likes Shuri, and she is happy to have her and she’s excited to meet both of you.”

“I wish I had known I would have brought clothes that weren’t a pantsuit.”

“It does look funny on you,” he said.

“I brought you a change of clothes, I just didn’t want to delay Peter’s class,” said Nakia, holding out a bag she had been carrying. 

“Oh,” Shuri went to duck into the girl’s room at they passed it. 

“I would not do that,” said Peter. “Three-thirty in a building with over two thousand girls? If the girl’s room is half as disgusting as the boy’s at this time in the afternoon, you don’t want to take off your shoes and risk putting your foot down by mistake. There’s a supply closet with a light in the room where we do Decathlon. So much better.” She gave him a look, and he laughed. “Look, it’s a great school, but it’s still a New York public school. You never take off your shoes in the bathroom.” They passed the copier room, and Peter said, “Quick pit stop.” They went in, and he said, “Nakia, would you shut the door?”

“Is this a detour to see the world’s oldest Xerox?” asked Shuri.

“No, I just wanted to see how you’re doing. We haven’t had much of a chance to speak since you got to New York. And once we go into that room, we’re with more people all night. So, while it’s just us chickens, how are you doing? I’m sure you expected that your first trip to the UN would be with your dad.”

She gave him a slightly watery smile, “Y’know, outside of Nakia, Okoye, T’Challa and Umama, you’re the only person still asking that.”

He nodded, “People stopped asking me way before I was ready for them to stop asking.”

“Why is that?” asked Shuri.

“I think they’re worried that by bringing it up, it hurts us — like they are picking off a scab. Or they’re worried we’ll cry and they won’t know how to handle it. Or they think it’s been long enough that we’re over it. I just know they stopped way before I was ready for them to.”

“When were you ready?” she asked, looking hopeful that he might have a timeline for grief.

Shaking his head, he said, “I’ll let you know when I get there.”

She nodded slowly, “They’re not just calling me an ice princess because of the dispassionate numbers I’m giving them.” She paused, but he didn’t push, waited for her to collect herself. “We have many, many vaccines against deadly things from which the rest of the world would benefit. I was asked why we would keep them to ourselves if they were so effective. I responded that we were an isolationist country.” She paused again. “The UN thought, for decades, that my father was a despot because he refused aid. Now they realize we have the highest GDP, the smallest wealth gap, plentiful food, great education, high quality of life and the best technology and they’re angry at us. So angry. And I was asked why we are an isolationist country.” She shook her head and came to a full stop. 

Peter said, “Did you explain that — with your wealth and awesomeness — there was no way colonizers wouldn’t have done everything in their power to rape your country? That now you are a superpower in your own right and finally at a place where no white guy is going to try and steal your country and people out from under you?”

She smiled ruefully and said, “I managed to be slightly more diplomatic than that. I said that we haven’t had an unlawful death in Wakanda since 1264 and that all it took was a trip to the UN for my father to be murdered. I told them that I was shocked that we were continuing to have any contact with the outside world when we live in a paradise where everyone goes to bed on a full stomach, on a comfortable bed and without disease. It got me only a very slight reprimand from T.”

“He would love to say it himself,” said Okoye gently.

Shuri nodded. “All week, people have been asking how T’Challa is handling his new role. And it’s making me angrier and angrier. We were raised to both take that throne. If my father had died forty years from now, as he should have, T’Challa and I would have had a real talk about which of us should rule. As it is, my twenty-four-year-old brother wasn’t going to make his seventeen-year-old sister do it. The man who designed the Quinjet was in ceremonial robes when we called him at eight PM. He should be in his lab, with my mother demanding he come to dinner. And they ask — like he might be faltering — when either of us could do what he is doing purely by muscle memory. None of them ask how he is handling the fact that he was mere steps away from Baba when an explosion killed our father right in front of him. None of them seem to understand that there is a man under those robes.” Then she tilted her head back, “I can’t cry, I’m about to meet all of your friends. I don’t want to be blotchy.” Peter leaned over her and fanned her face with his hands. “Thank you.” When she straightened up, she said, “Thank you, Peter. How are you doing?”

“Well, my pen pal from Africa really let my elementary school bully have it in front of the whole high school. So it’s been a pretty good day.” He smiled. “And Ben would have loved that. One time I came home with a black eye and Ben went over to Flash’s house. And I don’t know what he said, but his mom called Aunt May and said, ‘Keep your husband away from my son.’ And May said, ‘Keep your son away from my child.’ Ben would have loved you going off on Flash.”

She smiled, “We’re going to have to see him in a minute, aren’t we?”

He nodded, “Brace yourselves, he’s even more obnoxious in small groups.” 

“I’m ready,” said Shuri. “Thank you for asking.”

“Gonna keep asking until you tell me not to. And, even then, I’m still gonna ask from time to time.”

He led them to the practice room and opened the door. “May I present Her Royal Highness Princess Shuri of Wakanda with the royal guards and members of the Dora Milaje, Nakia and Okoye.”

Unlike in Physics, no one froze. Both Ned and MJ rushed over with excitement to hug Shuri. Shuri smiled, “I know all of you,” she said to the room, “but I don’t know who is who.”

Quick introductions were made, and Peter, “Where’s Flash?”

“He chickened out,” said Abe with a laugh. “Texted me to say he wasn’t feeling well and was going home.”

MJ rolled her eyes and spoke to the Wakandans, “Do you want to see this year’s test book? It changes every year.”

“Yes, please,” said Shuri with a grin.

MJ pulled her copy of the giant book out of her bag and the note Peter had written her fell out. It was still folded in the complicated origami he had folded it into. “You haven’t read that yet?” he asked.

She looked down and saw it. “Oh, I didn’t see it. I thought you had forgotten in your excitement.”

“You thought I forgot?”

“You have been so pumped at pulling off the surprise,” she shrugged.

“And you still left me a Kiss?”

She arched one of her perfect eyebrows at him, “Tiger, it’s not tit for tat. And I can almost guarantee that between Decathlon and finals, I am going to forget to leave you a Kiss. And if I don’t get a cute note the next day, I’m really gonna have to rethink this whole situation. It’s not tit for tat.”

“You weren’t angry when you thought your boyfriend forgot you because of a girl?” asked Charles, and more than half the room looked at him like he was an idiot. “What?”

“Women are not a threat to other women,” said Okoye in a gentle, slightly condescending tone. “A man having a friend who is a woman is not a threat to his relationship. A man being a cheating skank is a threat to his relationship. Don’t be a cheating skank, Peter.”

“Thanks, Okoye: I’ll do my best,” he said, giving her a double thumbs up. “Everything sounds classier with a Wakandan accent.”

MJ was reading the note and leaned over, kissing his cheek. Straightening up, she clapped her hands, “Rehearsal time. Let’s do teams of four. We have the room for two more hours. Mr. Harrington isn’t coming.” She smiled at the guests, “Be happy. Otherwise, he would definitely tell you about his divorce. He tells everyone about his divorce. He tells us about the divorce. It’s horribly inappropriate, but we don’t call him out on it ‘cause it’s just so sad.” 

Peter pointed Shuri to the closet where she could change before taking his place on the dais. MJ pounded them with question after question, and they were doing well. When his round was over, Shuri was in bell-bottoms and a tank top. “Want a turn?” MJ asked her. 

“I wouldn’t want to derail your progress.”

“We’re all listening to every question,” said Ned. “We’re all learning and memorizing. You can’t hurt us by getting questions right or wrong.”

“We’re partly learning reaction time for the bells,” said MJ. “You’re on the next team.”

They took their places, and Shuri almost kept up. But they had been drilling for weeks; she did well enough not to be embarrassed. When they finished, she said, “How are you all moving so fast?”

“Practice,” said everyone. 

Sally smiled, “We would probably go easy on you but,” she paused.

“Regionals,” Shuri finished. “I respect it. You’ve already beaten the county and the state. We’re getting to crunch time.”

After two more rounds in the hot seat she had gotten her reaction time up but then they started in on German art history, and she just sat, shrugging. “That’s why we need the book,” said Peter when she got off the stage.

“So the book has everything you need to know?”

“No, it’s a guide to what we need to know. You have to do way more reading, but it points you to that reading,” said Ned.

“And you do this for fun?” asked Shuri.

“It’s the best,” agreed MJ with a happy nod. They finished up and started stacking the chairs for the janitor, and MJ said, “Does anyone want to meet up for studying tomorrow? If so, Pete, Ned and I will be free after one, and we’ll be heading to meet you from Harlem.”

“Can we meet in Harlem?” asked Sally. “That would make my life easier.” Abe quickly seconded the motion, and they picked a Starbucks to meet at.

“Someone tell Flash that Shuri won’t be there,” said Peter.

“But I’m free tomorrow,” said Shuri.

“The meeting at the UN said we said was this afternoon is tomorrow at one-thirty,” said Nakia. “We’ll head directly to the UN after showing your friends the center.”

“Ugh,” said Shuri. “Thank you all so much for letting me crash and be part of your team for a day. I hear so much about you, and seeing it from the inside is wonderful. I’ve had such a lovely afternoon.”

“I’m so glad to know people at home in Africa know I’m funny,” said Abe.

“You’re hilarious, Abe, even funnier live,” said Shuri with a smile.

They all walked out together. But, at the door to the school, Okoye and Nakia stopped Shuri as the others all left. Peter pointed at the VW bus and said, “That’s Johnny. It fits us.”

Nakia nodded, and Okoye said, “MJ, you and Peter take the back seat, Ned, you get frontsies. Shuri, you’re sitting between us.”

“It’s a bullet-proof, explosion-proof and can maybe fly; Johnny likes to be prepared,” said Peter. “It can probably hold up to space.”

“I don’t care about space,” said Okoye. “I care about Shuri, who is first in line for the throne. And, therefore, people would like to kill her. So, you three go, take your seats. Leave the door open for us.”

“Okay,” Peter nodded, “yes, ma’am.” The three of them went to the bus. Climbing in, he said, “Hey, Johnny.”

“We good? Safety protocol?” asked Johnny.

“Paranoia,” Peter responded. He took MJ’s hand in his, and she smiled.

“Dude, I know you think of her as your science buddy. But, she’s the first in line for the throne,” said Johnny. The other three got in, Johnny grinned, “Dude, you got Pete banned from a country?”

“You’re still bitching about this?” asked Shuri.

“Nah, he didn’t say anything; I watched the live stream. It was awesome you told off Flash. He wasn’t in the group that just left.”

“He chickened out,” said MJ with a snicker. 

Johnny laughed then he smiled and said, “Nakia, Okoye, it’s so good to see you again.”

“You’ve met?” asked Peter.

“UN meeting on sanctities of borders,” said Johnny. “Everyone buckled up?”

“So, is frontsies what you call shotgun?” asked Ned.

“Why call it shotgun?” asked Nakia. 

MJ said, “It’s where the guy with the shotgun sits in a stage carriage.”

“How do you know that?” asked Johnny.

“You custom build cars, I read,” she replied, not for the first time. 

“We call it frontsies,” said Shuri. “Can I just say? I really am having a lovely afternoon.” To Okoye and Nakia, “Thank you. I know you don’t like me being out and about.”

“It’s just worrying. At a school, you don’t know how much force you can use,” said Nakia.

“No force, Nakia!” Johnny laughed, “They’re children.”

“It was stressful. But, it was worth it, for you to get on the shame wall for failing a quiz,” said Okoye smiling at Shuri.

“You failed a quiz in physics?” asked Ned. “How?”

Shuri told them about not putting her name on it. Johnny laughed and said, “Awesome. So, Nakia and Okoye, why can’t we have a sleepover? We crash at Peter’s all the time. There are two blow-up mattresses.”

“Johnny, it’s a matter of safety,” said Okoye.

“She’ll be sleeping in a room with the Human Torch and Spider-Man,” protested Johnny. “She’ll be super safe with the superheroes.” Everyone in the car was silent. “What?”

“Nakia and Okoye didn’t know, Johnny,” said Peter.

“Oh,” said Johnny. “Okay, well… does this change whether or not we can have a sleepover?”

“This makes so much sense,” said Okoye. “You fell off the map for months while Spider-Man was injured and you were so poised on that stage.”

“Does this change whether or not we can have a sleepover?” asked Peter.

“We could do face masks,” said MJ.

Peter raised an eyebrow, “You’ve never suggested that to Cat.”

“My face mask cream is for black girls,” said MJ. “It would do things to her skin. But we,” she gestured to the three other women in the bus, “will have dewy faces.”

“Please,” Shuri wheedled.

“I wish we could, but we would not be able to explain why we felt it was appropriate for you to spend a night in a private residence when we have secured hotel rooms,” said Okoye. “We can stay after dinner, and you can do masks, but keep in mind, we are guests, and we should not outstay our welcome.”

“You can’t, said Peter, “it’s impossible. Even though Shuri got me banned from a country, you are still welcome.”

“Should we take a pit stop at my apartment? Or is that risky?” asked MJ. Nakia made her hand seesaw. “Well, I assume that walking around Queens is out, so when Peter takes Lucky for a walk, I’ll go with him and grab my face stuff. Sound good?” Shuri beamed at her. Peter gently squeezed MJ’s hand. She had neatly built them a pocket of alone time into the evening. 

They pulled up in front of the house and Johnny reversed into the driveway, saying, “This gets your door closest to the door.”

“Thank you, Johnny,” said Nakia. 

“I’ve run security for royalty on other planets,” said Johnny. “I get wanting to keep Shuri undercover.”

“I like your house,” said Shuri as they climbed out of the bus.

“Thanks, I like it too,” agreed Peter. “And I’m thrilled you get to hang out.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked it! If you did, please leave comments and kudos! I love knowing what people think!


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